Response Essay on Black Face The mention of blackface minstrelsy evokes a collective groan. Whereas many people have heard of minstrel shows, a large population has never heard of it. Blackface is considered an embarrassing performance today. However, it is an integral element of the complexity of folk practices. Minstrel shows were popular in the 19th and 20th centuries. Some elements of entertainment engrained in minstrel shows found their way into modern entertainment. Scrutiny of minstrel shows and the black face reveals they were racist performances intended to demean the black population.
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The black face has a long and complex history besides being deeply ingrained in the American culture (CBS Sunday Morning, 2018). Certainly, minstrel shows were shaped by and reflected attitudes towards black people. In minstrel stages, white Americans colored their faces black pretending to be African Americans. White performers had created a stereotypical culture whereby blacks were recognized as lesser human beings (CBS Sunday Morning, 2018). The performers embraced a thematic approach intended to portray the inhumane mode of life of black people. For instance, the whites widely accepted the punishment, humiliation, and infliction of pain to the black people (Jim Crow Museum, 2013). These aspects of social inequality were integrated into the minstrelsy. White people who colored their faces black were treated harshly and inhumanely to convey that black people did not experience pain. African American performers had no choice other than color their faces black to fit in the minstrel shows. All blackface performers assumed the role of idiots and zombies, thus, creating the perception that blacks were inferior. There is a similarity between black on buses and black on minstrelsy. In both scenarios, blacks were forced to partake in their discrimination. Social inequality was certainly integral to the minstrelsy and American buses. Black had to participate in activities portraying their race's inferior nature to fit in (Jim Crow Museum, 2013). Black people were required to portray the whites as superior in all ways that mattered. These acts eventually created and cemented the racial hierarchy. Social inequality portrayed in minstrels was further cemented by the Jim Crow laws, which allowed Whites to use violence and instruments of power to control African American ambitions. I believe it is appropriate to use objects of intolerance to teach tolerance. Segregationrelated artifacts can help generate a deeper understanding of race relations. These objects create a
base to learn the history of racism since they were used to shape and reflect attitudes toward race and racial relations. The use of these objects promotes intelligent and open discussions on intolerance (Holterhoff, 2017). Importantly, intolerance objects create a practical base on which promoters of social justice can air their perceptions of violence and racial discrimination without the fear of making racially insensitive comments (Holterhoff, 2017). These objects promote open discussions where ideologies and beliefs are challenges and not bludgeoned. It is irrefutable that Black people have been dehumanized in games, media, and caricatures. For instance, the mummy, representing African American women, was extensively used as a caricature of African American women. The mummy was portrayed as a dark, large, and unattractive woman whose place was in the kitchen (Harris, 2015). Whites associated the mummy with wholeness and thus placed her face on all kitchen-related objects Jim Crow Museum (2013). Images of black people being brutally punished were used in postcards and distributed throughout America through the mail system.
References CBS Sunday Morning. (2018). Blackface: A cultural history of a racist art form. https://youtu.be/pqlD-eZm1ck Harris, T. W. (2015). The sisters are alright: Changing the broken narrative of Black women in America. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Holterhoff, K. (2017). From Disclaimer to Critique: Race and the Digital Image Archivist. DHQ: Digital Humanities Quarterly, 11(3). 1-32. http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/11/3/000324/000324.html Jim Crow Museum (2013). The New Jim Crow Museum. https://youtu.be/yf7jAF2Tk40